This application corresponds to French application number 99.10479, filed Aug. 13, 1999, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a remote handling device, of the type comprising a master arm and a slave arm adapted to reproduce the movements of the master arm.
In activities giving rise to the risk of nuclear, bacteriological or chemical type, personnel are separated from the products giving rise to such risks by placing these products within a confinement chamber. Operations are then carried out preferably by means of remote handling devices of known type, by transmitting the movements of the operator to a slave arm located within the confinement chamber.
Former remote handling devices, of the type described in FR 1.356.029 and FR 86.178 have been improved to facilitate maintenance.
This improvement leads to a differentiation of the technologies, into a so-called xe2x80x9cAmericanxe2x80x9d technology and a so-called xe2x80x9cEuropeanxe2x80x9d technology.
The present invention relates to the remote handling device technology called xe2x80x9cEuropeanxe2x80x9d.
Generally speaking, the slave arm located within the interior of the confinement chamber is adapted to be uncoupled from a mechanism passing through a wall of the confinement chamber and connecting the slave arm to a master arm located outside the confinement chamber and adapted to receive interactions from the operator.
In a known manner, the master arm is secured to a connection tube for connection to the mechanism passing through the wall of the confinement chamber, so as to copy the movements of the operator by the slave arm located within the confinement chamber.
In the technique usually used in Europe, remote handling devices comprise three separable parts: the slave arm located in the confinement chamber, the central passageway and the master arm secured to its connection tube.
These remote handling devices of known type generally are satisfactory, but are complicated to use, which decreases the productivity and renders maintenance of the remote handling devices relatively costly and difficult.
The invention has for its object to overcome the drawbacks of the known technique, by providing a new remote handling device permitting facilitating maintenance and increasing productivity of the activities carried out by this remote handling device.
The invention has for its object a remote handling device of the type comprising a master arm and a slave arm adapted to reproduce the movements of the master arm; said slave arm being located within a confinement chamber and being adapted to be uncoupled, said master arm being located outside the confinement chamber and said master and slave arms being connected by a mechanism passing through a wall of the confinement chamber; said master arm being connected to a connection tube to said mechanism passing through the wall of the confinement chamber, characterized in that the master arm and connection tube are connected to predetermined coupling and uncoupling means to permit their modular connection or disconnection, so as to facilitate the maintenance of the remote handling device and to increase productivity.
According to other characteristics of the invention:
said coupling and uncoupling means comprise guide means,
the guide means comprise a guide pin with a conical engagement portion and a cylindrical portion adapted to engage in a complementary cylindrical bore,
said coupling and uncoupling means comprise centering means;
the centering means comprise two concentric collars adapted to engage coaxially in each other,
said coupling and uncoupling means comprise hitching and unhitching means,
the hitching and unhitching means comprise a gripping bolt pivoting in a bearing and adapted to engage with a corresponding securement member,
said coupling and uncoupling means comprise movement transmission means,
said movement transmission means comprise coacting members,
said coupling and uncoupling means comprise an intermediate adaptor block.